His Airness wearing no. 12 just didn’t feel right.
What immediately comes to mind when the number “23” is mentioned? Most probably, it’s none other than Chicago Bulls legend and basketball icon Michael Jeffrey Jordan. Aside from a brief period when he wore the number “45” on his jersey during his first comeback from retirement, His Airness is almost exclusively identified and remembered for the iconic number “23.”
But did you know that there was a time when Jordan rocked a jersey with the number “12” on it in an NBA game?
Road game vs. the Orlando Magic
On February 14, 1990, the Chicago Bulls visited Orlando to play the Magic. Sporting a 29-19 record, the Bulls were looking to snap out of a slump and had the expansion team dead in their sights. However, the game got off to an unexpected start for the Bulls as someone stole Jordan’s jersey on the day of the game.
Making matters worse, the Bulls did not bring a backup jersey for Jordan. Chicago became so desperate that staff members even scoured the crowd for a “23” Bulls jersey that would fit Jordan. However, that search proved futile, leaving Jordan to wear a “12” jersey that the team brought for unexpected situations.
Did little to stop Jordan
However, the number change did little to keep Jordan from dominating the game as he scored a whopping 49 points on 21-of-43 shooting. Unfortunately, Jordan’s stellar numbers weren’t enough to give Chicago the victory as Orlando rallied behind Terry Catledge, Scott Skiles, and Sidney Green to give them a 135-129 win in overtime.
After the game, a clearly irritated Jordan commented on the jersey situation.
“That has never happened to me before,” Jordan said. “It’s pretty irritating because you’re accustomed to certain things, and you don’t like to have things misplaced.”
